1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and system for determining customized golf ball constructions based upon golf shot parameter values.
2. Description of Related Art
With advances in golf ball construction, and increasing awareness and proliferation of golf equipment designed for particular levels of play, there has been increased interest in matching a golfer with an appropriate golf ball. While golf club fitting has become well known and a routine service of golf pro shops, golf ball fitting is a newer process, with much still being done for the most part by a golf pro or fitter posing a series of questions to the golfer, sometimes in the form of a golf ball fitting survey. The questions are generally about a golfer's average score, handicap, their goals for their game, and their wishes for the oft times contradictory goals of control, distance, workability of the golf ball. Once the questions have been answered, the golf pro or fitter will consider the necessary compromises and recommend a commercially-available golf ball for the player. In some golf ball fitting surveys, consideration may be given to anticipated playing conditions such as green speeds, firmness of the turf, altitude, climate and atmospheric conditions on a given course.
The question and answer process described above is purely subjective and does not take much measurable criteria into account. Recent developments in golf ball fitting have addressed some of the shortcomings of a purely subjective question and answer process by having a golfer take swings at a ball while being monitored by launch monitors, video devices, and other measuring devices. The measurements generally taken may relate to club head speed, ball speed, launch angle, attack angle, backspin, sidespin, and total distance.
Meanwhile, some golfers have been in a position to benefit from golf balls that have been custom-tailored to their particular skills as a golfer. For example, highly skilled golfers such as professional athletes may either commission an expert or have an expert commissioned on their behalf to create a customized golf ball construction wherein the golf ball construction is judged by the expert to be particularly suited to the golfer's style of play. The process involved in determining such custom golf ball constructions may have subjective components as well as objective components (i.e., components based upon the sorts of measurable criteria described above). The process involved in determining such custom golf ball constructions may also be heavily dependent upon the judgment of experts, whose time or services may be scarce, or expensive, or both.
Recent developments have made the manufacture of custom-designed golf balls more feasible. Accordingly, increasing numbers of golfers seek to extend their golf ball purchases beyond the range of commercially-available or otherwise off-the-shelf golf balls and into custom-designed golf balls. However, the custom designing of golf balls may still be constrained by the limited availability of experts, the expense of experts, or both.
There is a need in the art for a method and system for determining customized golf ball constructions that addresses the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above. Specifically, there is a need for a method and system to reduce or eliminate the need for expert judgment in determining a custom golf ball construction. Similarly, there is a need to correlate various characteristics of a golf ball construction with measurable criteria to reduce or eliminate the need for the deep knowledge or experience of a golf pro or fitter in determining the custom golf ball construction. Accordingly, there is a need to automate the process of determining a custom golf ball construction, from gathering data with respect to measurable criteria to using that gathered data to determine in a custom-fit way the various characteristics of a golf ball construction.